Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2019

The Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act clarifies that the Federal Communications Commission – an agency housed within the Executive branch of the federal government – has the legal authority to stop prison phone companies from charging exorbitant fees to incarcerated people. The Act was introduced in response to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai reversing an Obama-era FCC rule that limited the cost of prison phone calls to 11 cents per minute. Pai has long argued that the FCC does not have the authority to impose that rate cap. This Act would undermine Pai’s argument and hopefully lead to a significant reduction in prison phone call rates.